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3.16.2009

A New Series...

Since I'm horrible about posting on Mondays, I thought it would be a good idea to do a series. Counter-intuitive, I know. Each Monday, I'll post the next installment of a series I have yet to name... I need something catchy, but not stupid. If you guys got any ideas, lemme know. Oh and feel free to critique the heck out of it. I probably won't really like it, but I'll appreciate it. :) I'm writing this, it's a true story, for some TBD reason. I started working on it late last night and we'll see where it goes from here. It should also be noted that I'm totally swagger-jacking Alix at A Brown Girl Gone Gay with this series business...

Part 1The ex (we'll call him JD for the purposes of this series) and I met when we were both in high school. It was sort of a fluke. For the first time, and never again, my high school thought creating a social mixer for all new students and on-campus residents would be good to help them acclimate to their new environment. JD happened to be at my table and in my group. He also happened to be the first one to come up. We chatted it up while we waited on the rest of the group to join us. One thing that is similar about both our personalities is that we can talk to just about anyone on just about any topic. I was two years ahead of him in school and he understood the importance of being taken under an upperclassman's wing. I felt like I was just doing my job.

About a week after we met, he and I spent about 2 hours on the phone. I had never been able to open up to anyone as quickly as I opened up to him. In that timeframe I learned so much about him and felt we were so much alike. I quickly decided I liked JD. I'd be lying if I didn't admit my haste in wanting to be his girl came from outside forces (like my friends and other girls I saw "pressing" up on him). I expressed my feelings and, in hindsight, he seemed taken aback and unsure of what to do. Not too long after I expressed my feelings, I found out through third party sources that he had started dating a girl in my group of friends. I knew something was going on between them because she took whatever opportunities she could to let me know they were spending time together. There was a common area my group of friends and I shared. We stored our belongings in this area and spent a lot of time there hanging out. One afternoon I walked into this area and heard JD and his girlfriend coming in from the other side. I quickly turned on my heels and left. From that day on, I ignored them both for the remainder of the semester.

I was upset that he didn't think enough of our friendship to tell me about her. I felt like a fool in front of everyone who knew what was happening. Ironically, the two of them broke up the following semester, shortly before Spring Break. The girl and I were going on a service trip together to Jamaica. She confided in me, before anyone else, that they had broken up. She admitted that her mom and others didn't really like him. I asked her why she was telling me. She said she just thought I should know. Not too long after, I ran into JD in our lunch hall. We talked and I confronted him about the relationship. He told me he thought he didn't need to tell me since I probably already knew. I knew he was bullshitting me but thought it best to let it go.

A few weeks after that, a friend and I were again in the lunch hall talking to a group of boys about prom plans. I had just recently secured a date to the prom but hadn't told anyone. JD came into the lunch hall and spotted me. He grabbed a chair and sat next to me. I ignored him while my friend engaged him in our conversation. I could see him staring at me but chose not to look his way. I wasn't upset anymore, but I still thought we needed to be clear about our boundaries. Were definitely no longer "friends" in my mind. My friend suddenly looked at me and said, "Why don't you ask JD to take you to prom?" I saw JD smile and begin to speak. I cut him off. "I already have a date." I said dryly looking only at her. I saw his face fall. I felt bad at the time, but I did have a date. After that, JD and I only saw each other in passing. I was careful to keep our interactions to a minimum, if at all.